Leeland Eisenberg arrested in Manchester, charged with escape

Eisenberg, 52, arrested without incident

Authorities have arrested a missing inmate convicted of holding hostages at a local Hillary Clinton campaign office in 2007.

Leeland Eisenberg, 52, was arrested without incident Monday morning in Manchester and charged with escape. Police said they found Eisenberg at the Manchester Community Resource Center.

He was reported missing Sunday from the Calumet Transitional Housing Unit in Manchester.

"I am not surprised," said Strafford County Attorney Tom Velardi. "I believe Mr. Eisenberg is a very good manipulator of the system. I believe he knows just what to say to make people feel sorry for him and to get every advantage that he can to do just what he did here."

Eisenberg was sentenced on May 6, 2010, and would have been eligible for parole in August.

He was convicted of holding workers from the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign hostage in Rochester before surrendering in 2007.

Since then, he has had several run-ins with the law, including an escape in Massachusetts. He has talked openly to WMUR in the past about having mental health problems and trouble getting help.

Velardi took his history into account in October when corrections officials were deciding whether to transition Eisenberg into a halfway house.

"We make a promise to the public that we are going to keep inmates in the community to help save taxpayer dollars, but we are not going to sacrifice public safety," Velardi said. "With Mr. Eisenberg's case, I felt we were sacrificing public safety. I objected."

But Eisenberg was moved, and since then, he has frequented the Manchester Community Resource Center where he was arrested Monday morning. Manager Renie Denton called police and sent her office staff upstairs.

"For the safety of them, we did just remove them from the floor," she said. "I really didn't worry too much about him because he has never shown aggression with us, and I think he's just always screaming out that he needs help."

Velardi said he hopes Eisenberg's arrest will send a message.

"This is just not someone we should be taking a risk with," Velardi said. "He should remain in total confinement. The prisons are built for some to remain in total confinement. He is one of them."

Eisenberg is being held at the state prison while he awaits an arraignment on the escape charge.

Copyright 2013 by WMUR.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.